The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) staged protests across the State and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in Telangana, against the increase in power tariff, leading to mild tension, arrest of party activists and vehicular traffic being thrown out of gear at several places on Tuesday.
Activists of the BJP organised protests at a few places on the same issue. Motorists were put to a lot of hardship in the busy Khairatabad area here as the separate protests of TRS and YSRCP in front of Vidyut Soudha lasted for about two hours.
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Leading a ‘dharna' in front of an electrical sub-station at Mogalthuru in West Godavari district, president of YSRCP, Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, urged people to utilise the forthcoming by-elections to 18 Assembly constituencies as an opportunity to register their resentment against the anti-people policies of the government.
He recalled that power charges were not increased for about six years when Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy was at the helm. The Rs. 4,442-crore burden forced upon people by the State government was in violation of the Congress manifesto for 2009 polls, promising that power tariff would not be increased for five years. Instead, the manifesto said that free power to the farm sector would be increased from seven to nine hours a day, he pointed out.
Tension prevailed at Vidyut Soudha when TRS activists led by the MLAs, E. Rajender, P. Srinivas Reddy and K.T. Rama Rao, tried to gatecrash into AP Transco/AP Genco headquarters here. Police foiled their attempts and arrested a large number of activists, including the leaders.
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The TRS leaders demanded that the government roll back the increased power tariff as it was back-breaking for the poor and middle classes alike. Reminding the Congress of its 2009 pre-poll promise against hiking tariff, they warned of intensifying the stir if it failed to withdraw the hike. Honorary president of YSRCP Y.S. Vijayamma, along with other leaders of the party, protested at Pulivendula.